


Just Another Complicated Space-Time Event

by shinyjenni



Category: Doctor Who, Doctor Who (1963), Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-01-10
Updated: 2011-01-10
Packaged: 2017-10-14 15:29:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 657
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/150761
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shinyjenni/pseuds/shinyjenni
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Even when River's not running into the Doctor, she's running into his friends.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Just Another Complicated Space-Time Event

**Author's Note:**

> For silly_cleo

The woman who'd accompanied her into the medical centre had explained its background, but River's arm had been hurting more than she thought was really fair and she hadn't been listening. Now, dosed with painkillers and wearing a temporary cast, she was waiting for her turn to be seen and had picked up (with her good arm) a little pamphlet on the history of the Tremas Centre for Medical Research, out of boredom as much as anything else. She flicked through the pages, reading about how the centre's original purpose, to refine a cure for something called Lazar's disease, had diversified over the decade or so since its foundation into all types of medical research. She was just looking at a photo of the woman who was, according to the leaflet, the driving force behind the centre, when she was interrupted.

"Professor Song?"

River looked up and found herself looking at the woman in the photo, a little older now, but with the same intelligent eyes, the same mass of curls. (River approved.)

"Call me River," she said.

"And I'm Nyssa," said the woman. "If you'd like to come with me?"

"I've just been reading about you," said River, following her. "Impressive work."

"Thank you," replied Nyssa. "It was a team effort, really."

"Seems a little odd that they'd have their star research scientist doing this sort of thing," commented River as Nyssa led her into a consulting room and indicated for her to sit down.

"It's just for the duration of the emergency," explained Nyssa, running a scanner over River's injured arm. "I'm not a doctor, but I can manage to operate a scanner." She checked the readings. "And heal a clean break, like this one." She swapped the scanner for something River assumed was an osteoregenerator of some sort, and began running it back and forwards over River's arm.

"So," she asked, "how did a human get caught up in this war?"

"It seemed like a good cause," River said off-handedly, "and besides, it gave me a chance to pick up this." She held up a tiny green statuette.

Nyssa took it and peered at it closely. "Pretty. Is it valuable?"

"Right now? No. The company made thousands of the things." She took the statuette back, tossed it in the air, and caught it neatly.

"Why did you want it, if there's thousands of them?"

"There's thousands now," explained River, "but if I skip forward a few hundred years," she went on, observing that Nyssa didn't even blink, "they'll be like gold dust. Literally."

Nyssa looked vaguely troubled. "I'm not sure you're supposed to use time travel for that sort of thing."

River waved a hand dismissively. "Once in a while can't hurt. Besides, it'll help fund my lifestyle of intergalactic adventure and do-goodery."

Nyssa eyed the statuette. "Do-goodery? Really?"

"Absolutely! Some of the time, anyway. When I'm not busy getting arrested. The adventure part, now that's true."

"That doesn't surprise me," replied Nyssa. "All done."

River hopped off the bed she'd been sitting on and pocketed the statuette. "Thanks." She looked Nyssa up and down, speculatively. "You know, you strike me as a woman who might enjoy a bit of adventure yourself."

"Oh, I've had plenty of that," replied Nyssa, putting the osteoregenerator away.

"Fancy some more?"

"Part of me wishes I could," Nyssa admitted, "but I'm needed here."

River grinned. "Did I mention I travel in time?"

Nyssa smiled ruefully. "So did a friend of mine, but he never seemed to end up quite where he meant to."

"Oh, _him_. I'm much better at it than he is."

Nyssa raised an eyebrow.

"Well, I _am_. You'd be all right with me, promise. Look, tell you what. I'll help out here for a bit, until things calm down, fetching and carrying, things like that. And then you come and help _me_ out for a bit. Deal?"

Nyssa bit her lip thoughtfully, then smiled. "Deal."


End file.
